Vincent Reinhart

Reinhart is an expert on reading the Fed's tea leaves — consistently adjusting forecasts for QE (in April he lowered his expectations for easing as other economists bolstered them, which looks spot on right now). His expertise was honed while working at the Federal Reserve and IMF.

Dong Tao

Dong Tao provides a much-needed sober voice on China. Recently, he went against his own bank's commodities team, who is bullish on commodities, declaring that due to the dim outlook for China, the commodity super-cycle is over.

Elga Bartsch

Elga Bartsch's insights on Europe at a time when the continent is continually dominating business headlines is always timely. She recently put out an update detailing all of her team's views on the economic prospects of individual countries around Europe – and things don't look promising.

Jan Hatzius

Where He Works:

Goldman Sachs

Specialty:

Labor Markets and Global Macro Trends

Why We Read Hatzius:

Because you have to. In 2010, The New York Times called the already hugely respected Mr. Hatzius "arguably Wall Street’s most prominent pessimist." In the months after the article was published, Hatzius's call that the economy would falter proved right — against a growing consensus that the worst was behind the country. Hatzius's commentary on the economy, labor markets, and Fed minutes are some of the most watched.

Michelle Meyer

Meyer is a housing expert Merrill Lynch poached from Barclays in 2010. Meyer has made prescient calls about the housing industry,including its bottom in mid-2012 before turning higher that stunned most of the Street. She frequently appears on CNBC and Bloomberg, and was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list last year.

David Cui

Cui can and does put out some awesome work on obscure but crucial topics like China's massive shadow banking system because he's there on the ground. He's been way out ahead on the China slowdown because he looks at undercurrents that can be hard for outside observers to assess.

Gary Shilling

Shilling is a consistent market bear. Even as data released from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed moderate growth in the second quarter, Shilling pointed to retail data that nearly always corresponded to recession. In short, great analysis and commentary.

Ward McCarthy

McCarthy is a fixed income expert at Jefferies, hired away from a research firm he co-founded in 2009. McCarthy spent time at the Richmond Fed, gaining an in depth understanding of the bond market. His team pumps out fixed income notes, always within an hour of the Treasury's auction.